posted
So I've been corresponding with my father pretty regularly now. The similarities we have are astounding.
By the way, I mentioned I posted on an OSC site, and he put this in an email:
"Well, if you get a chance to talk to Mr. Card, tell him that the "Speaker of the Dead" trilogy got me through Afghanistan, and the "Homecoming Saga" got me through Iraq. They had the first two books of the saga in the PX, and after reading them, I had Donna send me the rest. "
So, add this to his insistence that the scene with Denethor eating, pippin singing, and Faramir riding off to Osgiliath is the greatest scene ever filmed, just goes to show how alike we really are.
So things are going along wonderfully, right?
*sigh*
Alas. Tis not to be.
quote:Wes is right in that "type" that I am deploying with these days. so I know that we have a lot in common. FYI when I was in Italy in May 2001, I had seven guys working for me, all Army reservists, senior people who had been around a long time. Here are their professions: retired NYPD detective; LAPD detective; Los Angeles County fire captain (paramedic); border patrolman; life flight pilot; Army contractor with Huntsville in Alabama; contractor with Flight Safety Inc.; and, of course then there was me, the only democratic liberal/tree hugger in the bunch
emphasis added
Then in another email:
quote:My being a democrat, and a fairly liberal one at that, is a source of constant amusement among my friends in the VHPA. My active duty counterparts also get quite a kick out of it. However, they recognize that while I supported our move into Afghanistan, and did not (and do not) support our war on Iraq, I still chose to serve. I guess it comes down to the fact that I am an "American" soldier, not a "democratic" or "republican" one. After all, I spent two years fighting in Vietnam, largely a "democrats" war (thanks, LBJ!)]
Maybe they're all wrong, and he really isn't my father? I mean, how could this be?
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Aw, Belle, isn't that crazy, you got the only Democrat in the military for a biological father!
I don't know if you are really upset by this or not, I can't tell by the tone of your post, so forgive me if I upset you.
I am a 'liberal tree-hugger' and I accidentally married a Republican (he doesn't talk much, and I guess I missed the 'signs' ). I was horrified! But then I remembered that my mom and dad have differing political views, and they have been married now for 35 years! Love is a powerful thing.
You have many friends on Hatrack that have differing views from you. You seem to be okay with that. You have even had some of them as guests in your home!
I know this business with Mike is difficult for you, and I am glad that you are finding things in common with him. My dad listens to Rush Limbaugh, and yet, we continue to be good friends. It's the old nurture vs. nature thing. I don't think they've solved it yet.
You might want to gently probe and find out if he's always been a tree-hugging liberal. Maybe it's something that developed as he got older.
My thinking is that if his enlightenment (grin) came on him later in life, you could still have a genetic time-bomb inside you waiting to explode.
In other words, you could still have a gene for tree-hugging liberalism waiting to express itself.
Kind of like what happens with cholesterol for many of us in middle age.
Who knows? You might wake up one day with the inexplicable urge to go hug a tree.
(Tree-hugging liberalism is a dominant trait my family. My parents and I argue about who is more to the left. My sister doesn't enter into it. The genetic expression of her liberalism isn't as strongly expressed as it is with the rest of us.)
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Belle - thank you sooooo much for sharing this journey. ((((Belle))))
It reminds me of all the similar experiences I had getting to know MY biological father. It was an incredible, amazing experience. Lots of revelations, lots of surpises, lots of "a-ha's!" and lots of "at last, I fit!" Nathan and I loved him dearly.
He died very unexpectedly in 1999, and I just hadn't found the will to trundle through the memories - everytime the door opened, it was to his last day while I sat with him in the hospital.
It has been a really good experience to read these threads, think and feel what I need to, and start letting go of the loss a bit.
Thanks for your generosity in sharing this part of your life. Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Belle, you HAVE to introduce your dad to Hatrack. An OSC and Tolkien-loving liberal military man would fit right in. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Now that you've told him that you post on an OSC site, it is not unreasonable to assume that he will be curious, put a couple of words into google and eventually turn up here at Hatrack. And when -- as he inevitably will -- he figures out your nick name he might do a quick search to see what you've previously written and read the threads where you describe the process of your reaquintance -- and also see the letters of his you've chosen to share with us.
You might want to consider how he would feel about this. I am trying to put myself in his shoes here, and I'm not entirely sure if I'd be fine with it in his place. If you think he might be hurt by the revelation, it might be wise to delete the relevant threads before he has the chance to read them. In any case, they've already served their purpose, no?
posted
I think we should start referring to Belle's dad in code now too, so even if he does come here, he wont know we're talking about him. I think his codename should be:
Huggernaut.
So, Belle, heard from Huggernaut lately?
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
I've already deleted the other threads, guys. Not so much for him finding them as...other members of my family.
No, not my Mom or Fael, they know everything going on. Just, other people know about hatrack, and this hasn't been something the whole family has been in on.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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